Awesome Games of Trice’s Chess (Gothic)

Don't leave us guessing, how is that Bxj2+ move similar to Rxf2 by Morphy?

The idea: A piece sacrifice (Bishop this time) all to get in a “Chancellor Lift” which refers to moving a major piece usually a great distance (recall Morphy executed a “Queen Lift” against Bird) and a few moves later, white was in big trouble.

26. Kxj2 Cj6+ (the Chancellor Lift) 27. Ki1 e6! (now the black Queen threatens mate on j2) 28. Qh4

It looks like white can survive, and this is probably as far as most of us could see at the time of the Bishop sacrifice. But Ed found a way to win a precisely-calculated endgame after exchanging queens. The final position:

My whole point was that this variant is very deep and we are just barely scratching the surface. Talented players can “graft” ideas from different eras in completely different positions in Trice’s Chess, yet the “idea” from 8x8 chess is equally applicable to the 10x8 board. Morphy sacrificed a Rook to clear a horizontal sweep for his Queen, which did not even deliver a check. Trice sacrificed a Bishop to gives his Chancellor a horizontal sweep that did deliver a check. Different. Yet the same.

See https://triceschess.com/images/all_games/game_97/game_97_animated.gif for the entire game.

I looked online here on chess dot com and they refer to Morphy's move as a "line-clearing sacrifice." The material was given up to allow the Queen to run to the other side of the board. In Trice's 10x8 position, the Bishop was more "in the way", unlike Morphy's sacrifice where the enemy piece was in the way. Trice's sacrifice came with an immediate check, another check to follow, and the simple pawn release to threaten mate in 1. Then his attack slowed down but still prevailed. Commentators of the Bird vs Morphy game say Bird had a way to force a perpetual check. What do you say about that shogi?

Paul Morphy and his games have been scrutinized ad infinitum. Annotations search for fault, often times for the “hey, I improved on Paul Morphy,” as if it actually adds an iota to their clout or diminishes his. The “perpetual” is not really a rule; the 50-move rule is the rule, technically speaking. There is a path to such a draw if Bird could find it. We know he didn’t of course. No sense in over analyzing this. Just appreciate the idea behind the move and the beauty of it. Nothing against Ed, but the Morphy combination was prettier.

Can anyone imagine the shock black must have felt?

The latest Doug (1975) vs Ed (2350) game. Creative play again by black but he missed a quicker mate at the end. Black sacrificed

a pawn, won it back, sacrificed another pawn then his Rook, later a Bishop (accepted) his Archbishop (declined the first time) his Queen (accepted but not the best move, just “for show”) then the Archbishop a second time (accepted) to mate with the chancellor and knight.

I liked the position white had in the beginning. Was Nh7+ an error? I'd have played that too. I don't know how black just threw away material and still won no matter how many times I watch this replay.

I don’t think anyone really knows. It’s like an invisible force field. You experience the effects but can’t explain how it got there to begin with.

I thought white was winning most of the game.

So where was this topic yesterday?

I’m playing black in this game and getting killed. I tried to go for a tactical brawl but white kept making strategic moves that filtered out all chances for a fire fight. White in check and he must make a tough choice this move.

This game?

Good game!

I like this one